Derby on King Sound north of the mouth of the Fitzroy River (Kimberley district) was founded in 1883. It is named after Edward Henry Stanley, Lord Derby (1826-1893), Secretary of State for Colonies 1882-1885. The town was established for trade and export of products from the Kimberley cattle industry. It is part of the landscape where Arthur Upfield's D. I. Bonaparte investigated the peculiar death of a policeman in "Cake in the Hat Box."

The trip from Broome to Derby found us there at a morning Low Tide, where the mud flats could be viewed from the pier. The intertidal critters (crabs, bulb-eyed mudskipper fish) were active. Learn more about these remarkable fish at the American Museum of Natural History web site! Lots of fun watching the beasties go about their business feeding, defending burrows. The tides are spectacular. Derby is the gateway to the Gibb River road across the Top End.